HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Vietnam isworking to develop a system of modern agricultural product supply centres topromote the consumption of farm produce, enhance food safety and hygiene, andimprove the competitive edge of Vietnamese goods.

The Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment aims to restructure the entire chain of production, procession anddistribution of agricultural products.

The centres will improve connectionsbetween production and distribution activities that will enhanceefficiency, increase consumption of agricultural products, andensure quality.

The products entering the centres will becontrolled and have traceable origins to ensure quality, andthere will be classification and packaging of products according torecognised standards.

In particular, a trading floor withinformation about market prices in many countries and integrated paymentservices will be created to offer favourable conditions for businesses.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural DevelopmentNguyen Xuan Cuong said that the country’s agriculture lacks effectiveproductivity because most farms are small, exposing the sector to threatsof loss and crop failure, especially under climate change. 

Besides shrimp, catfish and milk, mostagricultural products have very short value chains, he said. Farmers arethe most vulnerable as production still depends heavily on weatherconditions while infrastructure remains limited.

In the context of globalintegration, more public-private partnerships areneeded to develop financial resources for a complete agricultural managementecosystem that would satisfy food demand of the country's citizens butalso the international market, Cuong said.

“Vietnam has to continue agriculturalrestructuring, and must focus on products in which the countryhas comparative advantages. Innovation and international cooperation needto be enhanced,” he said.

Ousmane Dione, World Bank Country Directorfor Vietnam, has raised concerns over quality and sustainability of Vietnam’sagricultural growth, saying that profits earned by small households were lowand post-harvest losses were considerable. Food quality and safety havenot been ensured, hindering the country’s agriculture sector from expansion.

He recommended that Vietnamstrengthen ties among stakeholders and provinces in planning of productionareas and improve trade promotions as well as productivity.

From 2009 to 2018, Vietnam's agriculturalexport market expanded from 72 countries to 200 countries, with annualturnover of 40 billion USD.

However, about 40 percent of the total valueof agricultural exports are to China,with more than 70 percent of vegetables exported to China.

Because of the heavy dependence on theChinese market, the agricultural sector has faced difficultiesduring the COVID-19 epidemic because of sluggish trade conditions.

Apart from that, the agricultural exportsector also suffers from a deficiency of market information, lack ofstrict control of food safety and hygiene, and unclear origin of goods.

In terms of total export value, Vietnamese agriculturalproducts' export prices are low, even though they are among the world'sleaders in terms of output such as pepper, cashew, shrimp, catfish, coffeeand rice.

Pepper exports rank first in the world,but the export price of pepper ranks only eighth; cashew is also first inthe world, but the price ranks sixth; rice and coffee are second andthird in the world, but the export prices are only 10th, according to theMinistry of Agriculture and Rural Development./.